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REVIEW: Mardock Scramble: The First Compression DVD

The voice work sounds promising from both tongues. Being an inveterate heathen, I'm eager to hear what Hilary Haag sounds like as Rune Balot; I imagine that it'll be more Chloe than Sister Rosette Christopher or.... uh... Menchi.

I like Andy McAvin too and I expect that he'll play his part nearer to the Duc d'Broglie than Kenichi Kurokawa.

CareyGrant wrote:

...why choose her to be your super cyborg? ...why would I use some physically and emotionally abused teen... Why wouldn't you pick, say, someone who's already a highly trained, educated and motivated soldier?

The obvious guess is, to me, that a psychologically damaged adolescent prostitute is more readily appealing and dramatically compelling than a mentally stable professional soldier is apt to be. A cool-headed professional can be all of that, but damaged goods from a seedy back alley do it more directly and perhaps more deeply. The latter is probably also more readily sympathetic to audiences, who probably won't have lived lives very similar to either, but will find the personal and emotional vulnerability of the young prostitute more easily related to than the perhaps inhuman professionalism and discipline of the solider. There is also a certain dramatic value from the illogical and unexpected. Those are, of course, external motivations that the story'll have to rationalize. It'll be something to be in admired if it can do that well.

CareyGrant wrote:

...why choose her to be your super cyborg? ...why would I use some physically and emotionally abused teen... Why wouldn't you pick, say, someone who's already a highly trained, educated and motivated soldier?

The obvious guess is, to me, that a psychologically damaged adolescent prostitute is more readily appealing and dramatically compelling than a mentally stable professional soldier is apt to be.

As a previous poster has suggested, this makes logical sense in the story. Dr. Easter was looking for an excuse to exercise the military tech he developed but was (apparently) never able to use much, and taking up a Mardock Scramble 09 case (i.e. life preservation using forbidden technology) was his only legal way to do that. When Balot's case also involved an opportunity to go after the October Corporation he sought to take down, and when she turned out to subconsciously be a tenacious survivor, it created a perfect storm of circumstances for him to rebuild her.

As a man-crush fan of Ghost in the Shell, I'm both surprised that I've not heard of this until now, and happy that some folks in Japan are still making anime for those of us who are less than enamored with the pandering moe revolution of empty, formulaic shows.

although the writing does also proscribe to the common cyberpunk penchant for requiring viewers to make assumptions based on the esoteric terminology being thrown around.

Rob Mungle's voice is irritating? I can't believe it. Jonny Yong Bosh? Sure. Vic Mignogna? Sure. But Rob Mungle, one of ADV's first VAs, voice of Pedro?! I can't believe it.

I am shocked--shocked--I tell you!

On a semi-related topic, is there any news of a date for the next batch of Sentai's Golgo 13?